Tornado kills 2, leaves 1,000 homeless in southern Brazil

Authorities said two people have been killed and 1,000 have been left homeless by a tornado that struck a southern Brazilian city.

The state of Santa Catarina's civil defence department said yesterday that the vast storm that blew through the city of Xanxere Monday night damaged about 500 homes. Lampposts were knocked down, and the strong winds flipped vehicles over and blew off the roofs of homes.

Officials say they are still counting the number of people taken to hospitals with injuries. Xanxere Mayor Ademir Gasparini told local media he saw many people who were hurt.

Tornadoes are rare in Brazil, but the region where the country meets Argentina and Uruguay is prone to supercell storms that can give birth to tornadoes.